A dual-frequency hopping device and method for a frequency synthesizer. An intermediate local oscillating frequency is decreased in the unit of a first frequency by a prescribed number of times as a channel is sequentially increased, to output an intermediate local oscillating frequency signal. A radio local oscillating frequency is increased by one level in the unit of a second frequency when the intermediate local oscillating frequency is decreased by the prescribed number of times, to output a radio local oscillating frequency signal.
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15. A frequency generating method for a frequency synthesizer in a global mobile personal communication by Satellite (GMPCS) system, comprising the steps of:
transmitting and receiving radio local oscillating frequencies within a first predefined frequency band; transmitting and receiving intermediate local oscillating frequencies within a second predefined frequency band; demultiplying a reference frequency signal and decreasing the intermediate local oscillating frequency for a prescribed number of iterations by an amount defined by a first frequency as a channel designation is sequentially increased; demultiplying the transmitted intermediate local oscillating frequencies by ½; and demultiplying the received intermediate local oscillating frequencies by ¼.
1. A dual-frequency hopping method for a frequency synthesizer having a dual phase locked loop, comprising the steps of:
decreasing an intermediate local oscillating frequency an amount defined by a first frequency for a prescribed number of iterations, where each iteration corresponds to sequentially increasing a channel designation to output an intermediate local oscillating frequency signal at each iteration; maintaining a radio local oscillating frequency for each iteration of said prescribed number of iterations except a last iteration to output a radio local oscillating frequency signal at each iteration; and increasing the radio local oscillating frequency by an amount defined by a second frequency at said last iteration to output a radio local oscillating frequency signal.
7. A dual-frequency hopping device for a frequency synthesizer having a baseband processor and a reference frequency generator for generating a reference frequency signal by the control of the baseband processor said reference frequency generator, comprising:
an intermediate frequency local oscillator for demultiplying the reference frequency signal and decreasing an intermediate local oscillating frequency for a prescribed number of iterations by an amount defined by a first frequency as a channel designation is sequentially increased; and a radio frequency local oscillator for demultiplying the reference frequency and increasing a radio local oscillating frequency by an amount defined by a second frequency subsequent to said intermediate local oscillating frequency being decreased for the prescribed number of iterations.
13. The device as claimed in
a first demultiplier for demultiplying the reference frequency signal; an intermediate frequency voltage controlled oscillator for receiving a prescribed signal and oscillating at an intermediate frequency signal in response to said prescribed signal; a first programmable counter for demultiplying the oscillating frequency signal under control of the baseband processor; an intermediate frequency loop filter for lowpass filtering an input signal to determine one of a synchronization characteristic and a response characteristic; and a first phase detector for comparing the phase of the signal output from the first demultiplier with the phase of the signal output from the first programmable counter and supplying an intermediate local oscillating frequency signal to the intermediate frequency voltage controlled oscillator via the intermediate frequency loop filter when the phases are determined to be equal.
14. The device as claimed in
a second demultiplier for demultiplying the reference frequency signal; a radio frequency voltage controlled oscillator for receiving a prescribed signal and oscillating at a radio frequency signal in response to said prescribed signal; a second programmable counter for demultiplying the oscillating frequency signal by the control of the baseband processor; a radio frequency loop filter for lowpass filtering an input signal to determine one of a synchronization characteristic and a response characteristic; and a second phase detector for comparing the phase of the signal output from the second demultiplier with the phase of the signal output from the second programmable counter and supplying a radio local oscillating frequency signal to the radio frequency voltage controlled oscillator via the radio frequency loop filter when the phases are determined to be equal.
16. The method as claimed in
17. The method as claimed in
18. The method as claimed in
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to mobile communication systems, and in particular, to a device and method for providing a fast lock time by hopping an intermediate frequency and a radio frequency.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, radio communication systems include a frequency synthesizer having a phase locked loop (PLL). In a GMPCS (Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite) system, such as, iridium, global star and ICO (Intermediate Circuit Orbit), for example, the frequency synthesizer uses a dual frequency band frequency synthesizer. The frequency synthesizer used in the GMPCS system has a dual PLL which generates a radio local oscillating frequency and an intermediate local oscillating frequency. These two frequencies are used to convert an input signal frequency into a desired carrier frequency fc.
A frequency synthesizer typically comprises a reference oscillator, a phase detector, a loop filter, a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), and a programmable counter.
In the dual PLL, a fractional N counter is used for the radio local oscillating frequency, and an integer N counter is used for the intermediate local oscillating frequency. The integer N counter consists of P (prescaler), B and A (programmable) counters satisfying the following equation N=P×B+A (where P, B and A are all integers). The fractional N counter includes an F (fractional) counter in addition to the P, B and A counters, satisfying the following equation N=P×B+A+F (where P, B and A are all integers, P, A, and F is a fractional number less than 1).
A frequency synthesizer having a general dual PLL construction uses a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) technique where each user is assigned a different frequency. To assign a frequency per channel (i.e., user) in the FDMA technique, the integer N counter and fractional N counter operate by 24-bit control data provided from a baseband circuit. The integer N counter provides a uniform frequency without frequency hopping under control of the baseband circuit to output one intermediate local oscillating frequency. The fractional N counter outputs a radio local oscillating frequency hopping in increments of a prescribed frequency according to the channel.
For example, in a transmitter of an ICO system, an intermediate local oscillating frequency of 430.0 MHZ is demultiplied by ½ and thus a 215.0 MHZ signal is applied to a mixer as an input representing the uniform frequency without frequency hopping. One of a number of radio local oscillating frequencies of (2200+0.025×n) MHZ are spaced at 25 kHz increments is also applied to the mixer as another input. Therefore, the output of the mixer, that is, an ICO transmitting frequency is the difference of the two inputs, namely, {(2200+0.025×n)-215}MHZ=(1985+0.025×n) MHZ, where n is an integral number, i.e., 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . , its bandwidth being 25 KHz. In a receiver of the ICO, the intermediate local oscillating frequency is preferably fixed at 456.0 MHZ and the radio local oscillating frequency is sequentially incremented (or hopped) in units of 25 KHz.
For a GMPCS system, the radio local oscillating frequency should be some multiple of 25 KHz because the frequency bandwidth of the GMPCS system is 25 KHz. If the radio local oscillating frequency is a multiple of 25 KHz, a phase detector of a PLL used for radio local oscillation should also use 25 KHz as a comparison frequency. Since the PLL used for radio local oscillation employs a fractional N counter with modulus-16, the maximum comparison frequency of the phase detector is 400 KHz (=25 KHz×16). The comparison frequency is an important factor in determining a lock time in designing a system, whereby the lock time becomes faster as the comparison frequency is increased. Generally, the GMPCS system has 1199 channels and a demanded lock time of 350 Fs. The more channels the system has, the faster the demanded lock time. A high comparison frequency is desirable to obtain a fast lock time.
As described above, it is difficult to flexibly change the comparison frequency to a desired frequency band (i.e., higher frequency), so it is impossible to achieve a faster lock time. Namely, since the intermediate local oscillating frequency is fixed, the comparison frequency range is limited to, for example, 25 KHz (mod. 16/16), 50 KHz (mod. 8/16), 100 KHz (mod. 4/16) and 400 KHz (mod.1/16). Also, the lock time and phase noise are influenced by the comparison frequency. However, since the range of generating the comparison frequency is restricted, it is difficult to provide a fast lock time.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a dual frequency hopping device and method for a frequency synthesizer, in which an intermediate local oscillating frequency hops per channel in increments defined by a first prescribed frequency, and a radio local oscillating frequency hops in increments defined by a second prescribed frequency only after the intermediate local oscillating frequency reaches a target frequency, thereby fully utilizing an RF channel band.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a dual-frequency hopping method for a frequency synthesizer having a dual phase locked loop includes the steps of decreasing an intermediate local oscillating frequency in increments defined by a first prescribed frequency a prescribed number of times as a channel is sequentially increased, to output an intermediate local oscillating frequency signal, and increasing a radio local oscillating frequency by one level in units of a second prescribed frequency after the intermediate local oscillating frequency has been decreased the prescribed number of times, to output a radio local oscillating frequency signal.
In accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, a dual-frequency hopping device for a frequency synthesizer having a baseband processor and a reference frequency generator are provided for generating a reference frequency signal under control of the baseband processor. The dual-frequency hopping device further includes an intermediate frequency local oscillator for demultiplying the reference frequency signal and decreasing an intermediate local oscillating frequency a prescribed number of times in increments of a first prescribed frequency as a channel is sequentially increased, and a radio frequency local oscillator for demultiplying the reference frequency and increasing a radio local oscillating frequency in increments of a second prescribed frequency after the intermediate local oscillating frequency has been decreased the prescribed number of times.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts throughout several views, and in which:
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well known constructions or functions are not described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention.
A description of a frequency receiving path of an RF circuit will be given with reference to
A baseband circuit 160 receives the in-phase data and quadrature data from the in-phase/quadrature demodulator 117 and provides in-phase data and quadrature data to an in-phase/quadrature modulator 119. The baseband circuit 160 also supplies a 24-bit control signal (CS) to the frequency synthesizer 140 to determine a radio local oscillating frequency and intermediate local oscillating frequency of the frequency synthesizer 140.
A description of a frequency transmitting path will now be given with reference to FIG. 1. On a frequency transmitting path, the in-phase/quadrature modulator 119 modulates the prescribed in-phase data and quadrature data into a baseband signal and receives the second local oscillating frequency signal via a ½ demultiplier 157 to output a transmitting IF signal (TX IF). The transmitting IF signal is amplified by a first transmitting amplifier 121 and supplied to a third mixer 123. The third mixer 123 mixes the amplified IF signal with the first local oscillating frequency signal to output a transmitting RF signal (TX fc) ranging from 1985.0225 MHZ to 2014.975 MHZ with a bandwidth of 25 KHz per channel. The RF signal is supplied to the duplexer 101 via a transmitting BPF 125, a power amplifier 127 and a lowpass filter (LPF) 129. The RF signal (TX fc) is isolated from a received RF signal by the duplexer 101 and transmitted via the antenna.
The frequency synthesizer 140 generates the first local oscillating frequency signal (RX RFLO) to be supplied to the first mixer 107 and the third mixer 123, and further generates an intermediate (second) local oscillating frequency signal (RX IFLO) to be supplied to the second mixer 111 via the demultiplier 156 and to the in-phase/quadrature modulator 119 via the ½ demultiplier 157.
The frequency synthesizer 140 includes a reference frequency generator 141, an IF local oscillator 149 and an RF local oscillator 142. In the embodiments described herein, the reference frequency generator 141 generating the reference frequency signal is a VCTCXO (Voltage Controlled Temperature Compensated Crystal Oscillator). The IF local oscillator 149 demultiplies the reference frequency signal and generates an intermediate local oscillating frequency signal, which hops at a small predefined frequency increment. The process of hopping the intermediate local oscillating frequency repeats as the channel is sequentially increased. The RF local oscillator 142 demultiplies the reference at a frequency signal and generates radio local oscillating frequency signal which hops at high frequency increments after the intermediate local oscillating frequency signal has hopped a prescribed number of times. This process is also repeated as the channel is sequentially increased.
Referring to
The fractional N1 counter 148 fractions or changes the oscillating frequency signal in units of 125 KHz under control of the baseband circuit 160. The second loop filter 146 lowpass filters the output of the second phase detector 145 and determines a synchronization characteristic or response characteristic which represents the characteristic of the lock time and phase noise. The second phase detector 145 compares the phase of a signal output from the second demultiplier 143 with the phase of a signal output from the second programmable counter 148. If these two phases are the same, the second phase detector 145 supplies a radio local oscillating frequency signal (TX RFLO) to the RF VCO 147 via the second loop filter 146. If they are not the same phase, then there is no locking for the phase.
Also shown in
The first demultiplier 150 demultiplies the reference frequency signal by 1/R2 (where R2 is 260 in the GMPCS system). The IF VCO 153 receives a predetermined signal and outputs an IF signal. The first programmable counter 154 fractions the IF signal from the IF VCO 153 to a 50 KHz step under control of the baseband circuit 160. The first loop filter 152 lowpass filters the output of the first phase detector 151 and determines a synchronization characteristic or response characteristic. The first loop filter 152 controls the IF VCO 153 so as to output the intermediate local oscillating frequency signal. The first phase detector 151 compares the phase of a signal output from the first demultiplier 150 with the phase of a signal output from the first programmable counter 154. If these two phases are the same, the first phase detector 151 provides a corresponding intermediate local oscillating frequency to the IF VCO 153 via the first loop filter 152.
The operation of the frequency synthesizer 140 of
The operation of the intermediate frequency (IF) local oscillator portion of the frequency synthesizer 140 comprising elements 150-154 for a GMPCS system will be provided. In
The above-described operation is identically applied to a receiving part. Here, a receiving intermediate local oscillating frequency (RX IFLO) signal output from the IF VCO 153 is demultiplied by the demultiplier 156 to ½ and then output as an intermediate local oscillating frequency (RX IFLO2).
As shown in the table of
The values for the radio local oscillating frequency and intermediate local oscillating frequency step sizes, (i.e., 125 KHz and 50 KHz, respectively), described with reference to
To briefly summarize the first embodiment, the intermediate local oscillating frequency was decreased in four successive increments of 50 KHz and the radio local oscillating frequency was increased once by 125 KHz after being maintained at the same frequency for the four consecutive iterations. This process is cyclically repeated as shown in
Referring again to
The IF local oscillator 149 shown in
The operation of the frequency synthesizer for the first transmitting channel will now be described with reference to
The reference frequency signal of 13 MHZ is also input to the first demultiplier 450 and demultiplied by the first demultiplier 450 by a factor of 1/260, that is, to a 50 KHz signal. The 50 KHz signal is applied as a first input to the first phase detector 451. A 548.05 MHZ signal output from the IF VCO 453 is demultiplied by the first programmable counter 454 by a factor of 1/10961, that is, to a 50 KHz signal. The 50 KHz signal is applied as a second input to the first phase detector 451. If there is no phase difference between the two inputs, the phase detector 451 outputs a transmitting intermediate local oscillating frequency as the output of the IF VCO 453 via the first loop filter 452. The above operation is identically applied to the receiving part.
Thus for the first transmitting channel, the transmitting radio local oscillating frequency (TX RFLO) signal of 2259.05 MHZ is provided to the third mixer 123 shown in
The transmitting intermediate local oscillating frequency (TX IFLO) is 548.05 MHZ for odd channels and 548.0 MHZ for even channels, as indicated in FIG. 5. The receiving intermediate local oscillating frequency (RX IFLO) is 548.1 MHZ for odd channels and 548.0 MHZ for even channels. The transmitting radio local oscillating frequency (TX RFLO) is unchanged for even channels and hops by a 50 KHz step for odd channels.
At the 1199-th receiving channel for example, the receiving RF (RX fc) signal of 2199.975 MHZ and the receiving radio local oscillating frequency (RX RFLO) signal of 2350.0 MHZ are applied to the first mixer 107, and the first receiving IF (RX 1st IF) signal of 150.025 KHz which is the difference there between is applied to the second mixer 111 as an input. The receiving intermediate local oscillating frequency (RX IFLO) signal of 548.1 MHZ is demultiplied by the demultiplier 156 to ¼, that is, to a 137.025 MHZ signal and output as a receiving intermediate local oscillating frequency (RX IFLO4) signal. The RX IFLO4 signal of 137.025 MHZ is applied to the second mixer 111 as another input. The second mixer 111 outputs a second IF (RX 2nd IF) signal of 13 MHZ.
It has been shown that a fast lock time is provided by hopping both the intermediate local oscillating frequency and radio local oscillating frequencies in the RF circuit. Further, the comparison frequency of the phase detector of the RF local oscillator is selectable and thus the frequency plan can be effectively designed.
While the invention has been shown and described with reference to a certain preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
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